March 2014 AOS Filers

[happyfuture24 2]

Ohh, I just got my Approval letter now with the GC!!

Hi, did your status showed Initial review at any time on usicis.gov website? Our case shows Acceptable status as of March 24th and we did Biometrics on April 16th, since than no update or anything.

[sweet cakes 326]

Hi, did your status showed Initial review at any time on usicis.gov website? Our case shows Acceptable status as of March 24th and we did Biometrics on April 16th, since than no update or anything.

No.. It just stayed in "Acceptance" since NOA1 date (March 18), then flew to "Card Production" on June 26, no update in between. I had my biometrics on April 18th, but no change or movement on the uscis.gov.

[Dragonmermaid 3]

You're welcome, girl! Ahhhh, take it easy! You need that beauty rest... Don't forget to bring your confidence and sweetest smile too tomorrow! And have faith that everything will go just fine, after all the preparations you made. We'll be looking forward to your update after your interview, ok? Cheers!

Amen, sister! I'll be giving you all a full rundown tomorrow after it's all over! LOL - I read other interview experiences and some people mentioned how the IO gets suspicious if we're too affectionate. The hubby and I are very affectionate, always holding hands and reaching out to touch the other, so when I mentioned this to my friends at lunch yesterday, one of my girls said, "That's easy! Just bicker! Then they'll totally know you're in a real marriage!"

Right on! I'll start picking on hubby the moment he sits down in the office, like - "Honey, I wish you would've worn a different shirt," or "Honey, I wanted to sit there! Why do you always sit to the left of me?" LOL - just kidding!!!

[Autumn13 0]

That's soooo awesome, Autumn!!! I am also busy revising my resume and drafting different cover letters to all the job positions I am eyeing. It's sooo exhausting, but I am getting tired of this vacaaaaation. Hahaha.

All the best to your new job!

Thanks, Sweet Cakes!

I still can't believe that tomorrow I will finally do the job I love. The process was really fast. 8 days after I received my GC I finally able to work. It was my first work application I sent, it's the only one I sent and they hired me. I was thinking that if this application failed then I will change my field but God still want me to do what I always did in my country so I feel so blessed.

Hope you can finish your resume and will be able to finally send it off to some places.

Good luck, my friend!

Amen, sister! I'll be giving you all a full rundown tomorrow after it's all over! LOL - I read other interview experiences and some people mentioned how the IO gets suspicious if we're too affectionate. The hubby and I are very affectionate, always holding hands and reaching out to touch the other, so when I mentioned this to my friends at lunch yesterday, one of my girls said, "That's easy! Just bicker! Then they'll totally know you're in a real marriage!"

Right on! I'll start picking on hubby the moment he sits down in the office, like - "Honey, I wish you would've worn a different shirt," or "Honey, I wanted to sit there! Why do you always sit to the left of me?" LOL - just kidding!!!

Good luck on the interview!

[sweet cakes 326]

Amen, sister! I'll be giving you all a full rundown tomorrow after it's all over! LOL - I read other interview experiences and some people mentioned how the IO gets suspicious if we're too affectionate. The hubby and I are very affectionate, always holding hands and reaching out to touch the other, so when I mentioned this to my friends at lunch yesterday, one of my girls said, "That's easy! Just bicker! Then they'll totally know you're in a real marriage!"

Right on! I'll start picking on hubby the moment he sits down in the office, like - "Honey, I wish you would've worn a different shirt," or "Honey, I wanted to sit there! Why do you always sit to the left of me?" LOL - just kidding!!!

I read that AOS interview post as well. My advice is just be yourselves in the interview. If you're naturally sweet, then it won't look pretentious. My husband and I also had the same tendency. Cheers to an awesome interview tomorrow guys!

Thanks, Sweet Cakes!

I still can't believe that tomorrow I will finally do the job I love. The process was really fast. 8 days after I received my GC I finally able to work. It was my first work application I sent, it's the only one I sent and they hired me. I was thinking that if this application failed then I will change my field but God still want me to do what I always did in my country so I feel so blessed.

Hope you can finish your resume and will be able to finally send it off to some places.

Good luck, my friend!

Good luck on the interview!

Thanks, Autumn! I have sent out at least 15 resume now to different positions & companies which are similar to my professional background since I received my EAD/AP card, but no luck! Maybe I need your lucky charm now..... So these past few days, I am taking more time to revise my resume and cover letter to appear more fitting to the job postings I am very interested with. Sometimes, I think I should just change to a whole different career or industry. It's very frustrating. But I'm looking at it as a challenge, just to keep myself moving forward. Excited for you tomorrow!

[Autumn13 0]

Thanks, Autumn! I have sent out at least 15 resume now to different positions & companies which are similar to my professional background since I received my EAD/AP card, but no luck! Maybe I need your lucky charm now..... So these past few days, I am taking more time to revise my resume and cover letter to appear more fitting to the job postings I am very interested with. Sometimes, I think I should just change to a whole different career or industry. It's very frustrating. But I'm looking at it as a challenge, just to keep myself moving forward. Excited for you tomorrow!

My lucky charm is Prayer

I was thinking the same too cuz I don't have the job's license yet and I don't have any background check/US reference but God still wants me to work on the same field I did before and I'm so thankful.

Hope you'll get a job soon, Sweet Cakes!

btw, try to apply to a company that have a statement about "no discrimination on gender, religion, citizenship/residence status, skin color, etc".. I noticed that some companies put that and some don't. The place that hired me has that statement on their work application.

Edited July 1, 2014 by Autumn13

[virji1988 4]

gc shipped.

[sweet cakes 326]

gc shipped.

That's awesome, Virji!! The tracking number will be visible in uscis.gov case updates.

[virji1988 4]

That's awesome, Virji!! The tracking number will be visible in uscis.gov case updates.

i didnt get a tracking number.

Maybe not yet

[sweet cakes 326]

i didnt get a tracking number.

Maybe not yet

Ahh I see.. The first notification is card production and the second is when USPS reported that they have picked up your card (this is when you'll be able to see the tracking number on the site), and then the last would be when it is successfully delivered. You won't see the tracking number on the email notifications though. I got some random "#DCN" something on the notifications. You should receive your GC within 1-3 days if the notification says the card has been mailed.

[Leostar 17]

After waiting for more than 90 days yesterday I received "Notice of potential interview waiver case" but the USCIS website status still shows Acceptance. Really I have to wait for 6 months for GC????

[sparrowone 2]

After waiting for more than 90 days yesterday I received "Notice of potential interview waiver case" but the USCIS website status still shows Acceptance. Really I have to wait for 6 months for GC????

I received that letter yesterday too. when did you apply?

[Leostar 17]

I received that letter yesterday too. when did you apply?

Applied on 22nd march and NOA date was 27th of March.

[Dragonmermaid 3]

VJers, I am so disappointed right now. Our interview was this morning and I have an RFE in my hand instead of a GC approval. I'm sorry - I just got so caught up in everyone's success stories that I believed mine would go as smoothly, especially because my husband and I have been together for close to 8 years.

We arrived at the Chatsworth, CA location around 10:20am (appointment was set for 10:30am). We popped our appointment letter into the drop box per office instructions and we sat down. My hubby got called to check in a few minutes later. We sat and waited... and waited... and waited. Finally, 2 hours later (12:20pm), we get called into the office. The IO wasn't unfriendly, but he was definitely all business. He proceeded to ask us for a variety of documents (originals of birth certificates, etc.). I showed him our SS cards with our new married name, as well as my bank cards and a bank document with our married last name. He asked for a joint bank account statement and it took me a while to locate it in my pile of copies from the papers we had already sent in with our petition. He pointed out that only my hubby makes purchases with the joint account. I told him I use my credit card for safety because it's safer with all the card-skimming going on. I do -however- pay for rent and other household bills with checks from the joint account.

He didn't even bother looking at my hubby's children's foreign birth certificates, which were a struggle to procure because one is from the Netherlands and the other is from Indonesia.

He looked at a variety photos and asked us some questions. I even supplied him with the invitation for the big wedding party we're having on July 19th, 2014 as well as a stack of RSVPs with fun, personal messages from our guests that we received. I pointed out that there's an official wedding website with online comments from friends. I really thought we were going to be okay.

But -NOPE- after 25 minutes, he sent us home with an RFE for MORE proof of bonafide marriage. We explained to him that now that we live at home with and take care of my parents, we don't have a formal rental lease anymore and my father's name is on our utility bill as well as on our car title because his credit got us 2.5% APR. He also wanted itineraries of our vacations together. Seriously???? What if we were like most people and have had NO money to fly anywhere and could only do road trips???

I know that it's not a big deal, but I'm so afraid that the documents we have scraped together won't be enough or they'll get lost in the pile of papers that disgruntled government officers are careless with, and I'm just sooooooooooooooooo tired of this whole process! I got really confident reading everyone's stories and believed we had this in the bag. I lost it on the way to the parking lot and have been crying ever since, not understanding how some couples -please don't anyone take offense- who have been together for short a time and barely know each other can get their GCs but someone I have loved since 2006 and been living with since Summer 2007 can't get one. I honestly think my IO was being a jerk because he wanted to go to lunch (his co-worker popped his head in to check up on him and our IO said he was "almost done" with us)!

We've put together what documents we could. We found old email itineraries (they'll have to do because I'm not sentimental with plane tickets - I travel for a living and I don't want the clutter), we found copies of our old lease from a house we rented from 2007-2011, we highlighted our car payment withdrawal from our monthly bank statement that matches the online car bill with my father's name and our home address, we already gave the IO a copy of our family car insurance that lists my husband as one of the beneficiaries and we're adding a copy of our health insurance acceptance letter that has both of our names on it. My hubby is going to take the papers to the office tomorrow morning instead of mailing them in (we have the option of either). The IO told us to have a copy of each thing we submit and have the front desk person date stamp each item so that in the slight chance they get lost, we have proof that we did bring them in.

So, I guess the moral of the story is: make sure you have tons of proof of bonafide marriage. If you're a unique couple like us who live with parents or with family and have no formal rental lease or utility bills under your name, maybe create a rental lease agreement and have the utilities transferred to your name. I thought this was going to be an interview where they ask you all kinds of personal questions to see if they can catch you in a lie. I felt like we were just filling in our application all over again, but in person.

Good luck to everyone who is still waiting. I hope someone can learn from my frustration.

[mrsherrera08 0]

Received the interview waiver for me and my 2 K-2's yesterday.. does it mean we have to wait 6 months???